title: Effects of spaceflight on the spermatogonial population of rat seminiferous epithelium.
abstract: Testes from rats flown on Cosmos 1887 were compared with vivarium control and synchronous control samples. The mean weights of flight testes, normalized for weight per 100 g, were 6.4% less when compared with the vivarium controls. Counts of spermatogonia from tissue sections (seminiferous tubules in maturation stage 6) from five animals in each group revealed 4% fewer spermatogonia in flight testes compared with synchronous controls and 11% fewer spermatogonia in flight samples compared with vivarium controls.
authors.affiliation: Tuskegee University, Alabama 36088.
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Sapp
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Philpott
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vasquez
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Serova
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012670:Seminiferous Epithelium / Q000166:cytology*; D012708:Sertoli Cells / Q000166:cytology; D013026:Space Flight; D013076:Sperm Count; D013093:Spermatogonia / Q000166:cytology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*; D013737:Testis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology*; D014893:Weightlessness